Safe and Warm The ground was cold and made a poor bed, especially for people who went to bed with sore muscles every night. The blankets liberated from the enemy were not enough to both cushion everyone and keep them warm enough. Some curled up alone, shivering, and woke unable to feel their toes. Others stopped holding to the dignity of civilized society and began sharing blankets. In the morning, the motley infantry was unified.

They never said a word to their commander, although he had long since abandoned sleeping under his lonely blanket. Somewhere, a lovely laundress would have been heartbroken because Shrike pillowed his head on the shoulder of his poet laureate. The men who followed did not even smile at the epic poem that praised them. None knew that it was composed to lull the nightmares of their anguished commander so that he could face the dawn refreshed.